Overview

Professor Tom Bourne

ISUOG President 2020 - 2022, Virtual World Congress Technical Congress Chair 2020 and 2021, 2022 World Congress Co-Chair, Executive Committee, Finance & Risk Committee, Nominations Committee

Professor Tom Bourne was ISUOG President between 2020 and 2022 and is curently Chair in Gynaecology at Imperial College London, Hon Consultant Gynaecologist at Queen Charlottes and Chelsea hospital and Visiting Professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is an authority on managing early pregnancy complications, emergency gynaecology and gynaecological ultrasonography. He trained in ultrasound at Kings College Hospital in London. He subsequently worked at the University of Göteborg, Sweden as Medical Research Council visiting scientist, Hamar in Norway, and Leuven in Belgium. He was appointed senior lecturer and consultant gynaecologist at St George's University Hospital London before moving to Imperial College. He has edited seven books and published over 400 papers. He sits on the management committee of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research. He is medical advisor and trustee of the patient group, the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. He is immediate Past-President of the UK Association of Early Pregnancy Units. He is co-founder and CEO of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group and sits on the steering committees of several large multicentre international trials. He is founder member of the RCOG task force on “supporting our doctors”. He is honorary fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, honorary member of the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine and honorary member of the Brazilian and Hungarian Ultrasound Societies.

His principal research interest is diagnostics in early pregnancy and gynaecology including the IOTA, IETA, IDEA and MUSA studies, microbiome, metabolomics, novel biomarkers, and AI. His interests include the psychology of pregnancy loss and physician welfare including studies with the BMA and RCOG.

Country: UK

Language: English

Field: Gynaecology

Specialties: Early Pregnancy Care, Emergency Gynaecology, Ultrasound in Oncology, Gynaecological Ultrasonography, Physician Wellbeing

Selected Notable Publications:

Sporadic miscarriage: evidence to provide effective care. Coomarasamy A, Gallos ID, Papadopoulou A, Dhillon-Smith RK, Al-Memar M, Brewin J, Christiansen OB, Stephenson MD, Oladapo OT, Wijeyaratne CN, Small R, Bennett PR, Regan L, Goddijn M, Devall AJ, Bourne T, Brosens JJ, Quenby S.

Lancet. 2021 May 1;397(10285):1668-1674. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00683-8. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Validation of models to diagnose ovarian cancer in patients managed surgically or conservatively: multicentre cohort study.

Van Calster B, Valentin L, Froyman W, Landolfo C, Ceusters J, Testa AC, Wynants L, Sladkevicius P, Van Holsbeke C, Domali E, Fruscio R, Epstein E, Franchi D, Kudla MJ, Chiappa V, Alcazar JL, Leone FPG, Buonomo F, Coccia ME, Guerriero S, Deo N, Jokubkiene L, Savelli L, Fischerová D, Czekierdowski A, Kaijser J, Coosemans A, Scambia G, Vergote I, Bourne T, Timmerman D.

BMJ. 2020 Jul 30;370:m2614. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2614.

Posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

Farren J, Jalmbrant M, Falconieri N, Mitchell-Jones N, Bobdiwala S, Al-Memar M, Tapp S, Van Calster B, Wynants L, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Apr; 222(4):367.e1-367.e22. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.10.102.

Risk of complications in patients with conservatively managed ovarian tumours (IOTA5): a 2-year interim analysis of a multicentre, prospective, cohort study.

Froyman W, Landolfo C, De Cock B, Wynants L, Sladkevicius P, Testa AC, Van Holsbeke C, Domali E, Fruscio R, Epstein E, Dos Santos Bernardo MJ, Franchi D, Kudla MJ, Chiappa V, Alcazar JL, Leone FPG, Buonomo F, Hochberg L, Coccia ME, Guerriero S, Deo N, Jokubkiene L, Kaijser J, Coosemans A, Vergote I, Verbakel JY, Bourne T, Van Calster B, Valentin L, Timmerman D.

Lancet Oncol. 2019 Mar; 20(3): 448-458. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30837-4.

Defining safe criteria to diagnose miscarriage: prospective observational multicentre study. Preisler J, Kopeika J, Ismail L, Vathanan V, Farren J, Abdallah Y, Battacharjee P, Van Holsbeke C, Bottomley C, Gould D, Johnson S, Stalder C, Van Calster B, Hamilton J, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

BMJ. 2015 Sep 23; 351:h4579. doi: 10.1136/bmj.h4579.

Evaluating the risk of ovarian cancer before surgery using the ADNEX model to differentiate between benign, borderline, early and advanced stage invasive, and secondary metastatic tumours: prospective multicentre diagnostic studies. Van Calster B, Van Hoorde K, Valentin L, Testa AC, Fischerova D, Van Holsbeke C, Savelli L, Franchi D, Epstein E, Kaijser J, Van Belle V, Czekierdowski A, Guerriero S, Fruscio R, Lanzani C, Scala F, Bourne T, Timmerman D; International Ovarian Tumour Analysis Group.

BMJ. 2014 Oct 15;349:g5920. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5920.

Diagnostic criteria for nonviable pregnancy early in the first trimester. Doubilet PM, Benson CB, Bourne T, Blaivas M; Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Multispecialty Panel on Early First Trimester Diagnosis of Miscarriage and Exclusion of a Viable Intrauterine Pregnancy, Barnhart KT, Benacerraf BR, Brown DL, Filly RA, Fox JC, Goldstein SR, Kendall JL, Lyons EA, Porter MB, Pretorius DH, Timor-Tritsch IE.

N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 10; 369(15): 1443-51. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1302417.

Limitations of current definitions of miscarriage using mean gestational sac diameter and crown-rump length measurements: a multicenter observational study. Abdallah Y, Daemen A, Kirk E, Pexsters A, Naji O, Stalder C, Gould D, Ahmed S, Guha S, Syed S, Bottomley C, Timmerman D, Bourne T.

Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Nov; 38(5): 497-502. doi: 10.1002/uog.10109.

He is President of the UK Association of Early Pregnancy Units (AEPU), Trustee of the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust and on the steering committee of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) trial.

2020 Gold Medal Award article

Davor Jurkovic is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Director of Gynaecology Diagnostic and Outpatient Treatment Unit at University College Hospital London.  His main clinical and academic interest is the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of early pregnancy and gynaecological abnormalities.  He has pioneered the use of colour Doppler in gynaecology and early pregnancy as well as the use of three-dimensional ultrasound for the diagnosis of congenital uterine anomalies. He has published more than 250 papers in the international peer review journals and has edited five books on gynaecological ultrasound. Read more.

Country: UK

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Endometriosis, early pregancy complications, ultrasound in gynaecology, benign gyanecological conditions, diagnosis of uterine and ovarian cancer.

2019 Gold Medal Award article

Prof. Lil Valentin has been a Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Lund University, Sweden, since 2002. She is Head of the Ultrasound Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, Sweden. Her research is mainly in gynecologic ultrasound, especially Doppler ultrasound (both 2D and 3D), but also obstetric ultrasound (RCT on nuchal translucency screening, cervix in pregnancy, cesarean hysterotomy scars).

With more than 200 scientific publications and vast teaching experience, she is often an invited speaker at Congresses and courses. She has organised many ultrasound courses herself and is a current member of the Editorial Board for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Country: Sweden

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound; gynecological oncology; early pregnancy; safety of ultrasound

Languages: English; Swedish

Dr. Mathew Leonardi is an advanced gynecologic surgeon and sonologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hamilton Health Sciences and assistant professor at McMaster University. His special interests are imaging technologies including transvaginal ultrasound, endometriosis, advanced gynecologic surgery, innovation in diagnosis, and research. Mathew is completing a PhD in Medicine (University of Sydney, Australia), focusing on the utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. He completed his MD and residency at the University of Toronto and fellowship at the University of Sydney.

Mathew is an early career researcher, co-supervisor of a fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, and appointee in the Medical Sciences department at McMaster University. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and an Associate Editor for Reproduction & Fertility. He is involved in with the VISUOG Gynecology endeavour. Mathew is committee member of EndoAct Canada and contributing the latest clinical practice guidelines on endometriosis in Canada. He is leading a research program locally and contributing to international research studies.

Country: Canada

Field: Gynecology; Imaging; Surgery

Specialties: Endometriosis; adenomyosis; intracavitary pathology; ovarian masses; intra-abdominal adhesions; advanced gynecologic surgery; transvaginal ultrasound; transrectal ultrasound

Languages: English

Following her own (unsuccessful) infertility journey of IVF and miscarriages, she now writes about infertility and pregnancy loss, and advocates for better understanding of the patient perspective of fertility issues.

OTHER

Media commentator about infertility & pregnancy loss:

- Journalism incl. The Guardian, Observer, Metro

- Broadcasting incl radio (BBC Woman’s Hour, CBC Radio Canada), TV (Sky News, 60

Mins Australia), and documentary film ‘Misunderstandings of Miscarriage’

Patient advocate (highlights)

- Collaborated in the development of consumer law guidance for fertility clinics

- First patient to be invited as a speaker at EBART Congress (Evidence Based Assisted

Reproductive Technology), to talk about evidence-based communication with fertility

patients

- Co-author of a recent paper about the increase in IVF amongst same-sex female

couples, and a forthcoming paper about the demand for IVF add-ons

OTHER background

PPI (Patient & Public Involvement)

Initiatives

- RCOG Women’s Involvement Panel

- HFEA Patient Engagement Forum

- Competition & Markets Authority consumer law guidance for fertility clinics

- Reproductive Technologies Network (Institute for Women’s Health, UCL)

- COMMIT-IVF Initiative (Core Outcome Measure for Infertility Trials)

Research Projects: King’s, Imperial, QMUL, Bournemouth

Papers

Co-Author:

- Meads, Catherine, et al. “Why Are the Proportions of In-Vitro Fertilisation Interventions for Same Sex Female Couples Increasing?” Healthcare, vol. 9, no. 12, MDPI AG, 30 Nov. 2021, p. 1657. Crossref, doi:10.3390/healthcare9121657.

PPI contributor:

- Duffy, J. M. N., et al. “Developing a Core Outcome Set for Future Infertility Research: An International Consensus Development Study.” Fertility and Sterility, vol. 115, no. 1, Elsevier BV, Jan. 2021, pp. 191–200

- Duffy, J. M. N., et al. “Top 10 Priorities for Future Infertility Research: An International Consensus Development Study .” Human Reproduction, vol. 35, no. 12, Oxford University Press (OUP), 30 Nov. 2020, pp. 2715–2724

- Chauhan, Dilan et al. “Childless by circumstance - Using an online survey to explore the experiences of childless women who had wanted children.” Reproductive biomedicine & society online vol. 12 44-55. 4 Nov. 2020, doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2020.09.006

Dr Simon Meagher is consultant sonologist at the Perinatal department, Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne. He also serves as Medical Director of Monash Ultrasound for Women where he oversees a team of 50 sonologists, sonographers, genetic counsellors, phlebotomists and administrative staff in delivering a tertiary level ultrasound service across south east Melbourne. Dr Meagher has dedicated 30  years of his term as Medical Director, teaching and lecturing in obstetric and gynaecological ultrasound both locally and overseas. He has delivered over 800 lectures, across 17 countries, and 43 cities worldwide. In 2015, he was awarded ‘Sonologist of The Year’ by the Australian society of Ultrasound in medicine (ASUM) in recognition  of his teaching skills and his commitment to  hands on training within the hospital setting at the Mercy Hospital for Women and for  his commitment and contributions to ASUM.

His interest in clinical research has focussed on early pregnancy screening and diagnosis he has published over 100  articles in peer review journals, including 15 articles  in the last 3 years focusing on first trimester  pregnancy screening and diagnosis. Dr Meagher has described five original sonographic fetal markers during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. He is now focusing his interest on aneuploidy and embryo development from  seven to 10 weeks as we approach the dawn of a new era of genetic screening via free fetal DNA analysis.  

Dr Meagher has taken on multiple leadership positions - early in his career as the Chair of the Standards of Practice Committee at ASUM, examiner and executive board member for the ASUM Diploma of diagnostic ultrasound and later as council member of ASUM. Thereafter he served as Chairman of the Victoria Obstetric Sonologists group and on several  ISUOG Sub-Committees  at the  International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound.

Country: Australia

Field: Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Specialties: Prenatal Diagnosis. First and Second Trimester Fetal anomaly screening. Aneuploidy screening and diagnosis. NIPT and prenatal Exome sequencing. Maternal and Fetal Doppler Ultrasound. Invasive Prenatal Procedures.  Ultrasound and Infertility. Tubal Patency Testing. 

Languages: English

Professor Siobhan Quenby is a Consultant Obstetrician, Professor of Obstetrics at Warwick Medical School, Co-director of the Centre for Early Life, University of Warwick and Deputy Director of the Tommy’s National Miscarriage Research Centre. 

Siobhan runs recurrent miscarriage, implantation and preterm prevention clinics dedicated to research into pregnancy loss prevention.  Siobhan has published over 165 original articles and supervised 20 higher degrees. Siobhan’s research is funded by Tommy’s, NIHR, MRC, UHCW and other medical charities. Her work has received considerable media interest, including from national newspapers, BBC radio and TV, ITV, SKY and Channel 4 news. 

Dr Jessica Preisler is Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Clínica Alemana Santiago and Hospital Clínico University de Chile, Chile as well as 2012 Clinical Research Fellow in early pregnancy and acute gynecology Imperial College London, and recently part of the ISUOG Next Generation Group. During her fellowship, she worked on research projects about Ultrasound diagnosis of miscarriage and IOTA studies. In 2013, she relocated back to Chile where she has focused her work on the Gynecological Ultrasound Unit where she also teaches OBGYN residents. In the non-clinical area, she has been the IOTA Ambassador for South America since 2017, a role that has taken her to multiple countries within the Continent where she ran IOTA training courses. She is also a member of the Chilean Ultrasound Society where she actively organises courses, lectures and teaching sessions. In January 2021, she became part of the Board of the Chilean Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (SOCHUMB). Her special interest includes education in gynecological ultrasound and early pregnancy and gynecological ultrasound training and research. During 2020, Dr Preisler was part of the Next Generation Group and collaborated with ISUOG promoting COVID webinars in Spanish. She also translated ISUOG COVID guidelines in gynecology and early pregnancy.

Country: Chile

Field: Gynecology, Early Pregnancy

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound with special interest in adnexal masses, early pregnancy.            

Languages: Spanish, English, German

2002 Gold Medal Award article
 

Prof. Ilan E. Timor is an obstetrician-gynecologist in New York, New York and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including NYU Langone Hospitals and NYC Health and Hospitals-South Brooklyn Health. He received his medical degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hadassah Medical School and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Prof. Timor-Tritsch's original research was in fetal behavior. He wrote some of the original articles on the use of fetal heart rate monitoring to indirectly characterize various fetal sleep states. It was during these years in Cleveland that he developed a keen interest in real-time ultrasound, initially as a tool to assess fetal status, but later as a vehicle for prenatal diagnosis.

Prof. Timor-Tritsch is best known for his work with transvaginal sonography in chronicling normal and abnormal embryonic development. He also pioneered this technique to identify anomalies before they could be adequately visualized with transabdominal ultrasound. Working in parallel with the Trondheim group, Prof. Timor-Tritsch demonstrated the capability of ultrasound in the study of fetal brain development and in the diagnosis, sometimes through transvaginal ultrasound, of a variety of fetal intracranial abnormalities. Adding to the list of accomplishments, he is one of the leaders in utilizing ultrasound adjunctively in invasive procedures, particularly in multiple gestations. Speaking of multiple gestations, he and his colleague, Ana Monteagudo, have authored a book on twins that I often still grab off the shelf to answer an occasional diagnostic question.

Prof. Thierry Van den Bosch defended his PhD in 2007 on the diagnosis of endometrial disease. His clinical research focuses on the diagnosis of endometrial and myometrial pathology, endometriosis and fertility exploration. He has published over 150 papers and has been over 100 times invited speaker at international conferences in English, Dutch and French.

He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the KU Leuven (Belgium) and at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). In 1992 he was appointed consultant at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Unit of Gynecologic Oncology, of the University of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Hospital (South-Africa). In 1994 he moved back to Belgium. He worked as gynecologist at the Regional Hospital RZ Tienen, consultant UZ Leuven and KU Leuven and became the Head of department in RZ Tienen.

He currently works at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital UZ Leuven, at the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, and is Senior Clinical Investigator of the Scientific Research Fund (FWO) Flanders, Belgium. 

Notable Publications

Country: Belgium

Field: Gynecology

Specialties: Gynecological ultrasound

Languages: English; French; Dutch